“I am very proud of our Cumberland County Girls and their effort,” said Explosions coach Allan MacEachern.

In the bronze medal game it was the Explosions defeating the host team, the Halifax Fusion, 67-59 in overtime.

Lauren MacEachern led the way with 26 points, followed by Sydnee Balser with 13, Danielle Young with 11, Natasha Gouchie with nine, Lauren Chitty with four, Ashley MacEachern and Ryanne Beylea with two each and player of the game was Balser.

The team is made up of eight girls from Amherst and one, Balser, from Springhill.

“The other teams are made up from High School Division 1 players from around the province, creating five all star teams,” said MacEachern. “For instance, the eventual winner from cape Breton picked the best girls from the four Division 1 schools from the Sydney area.

“We may not have won gold or silver, but the girls feel the bronze was like winning gold.”

Many of the girls on the other teams have been scouted and recruited by university teams, and MacEachern said it shows, ”that if you work hard together and have a common goal it can pay off, and that anything is possible no matter what the population of your area is.”

Other Explosions results from the seven-team tournament are as follows:

Game 1:

Explosions beat the Halifax Fusion 85-47. Young scored 21, followed by Balser with 15, Lauren MacEachern with 10, Lauren Chitty with eight, Gouchie with five, Ashley MacEachern with four, and Mia Furlong with two. The player of the game was Danielle Young.

Game 2:

Explosions lost 60-59 to the Halifax Fusion all-stars. – Balser scored 12 points, followed by Young with 10, Gouchie with seven, Furlong with six, Lauren and Ashley MacEachern with five each, and Belyea and Taylor Chitty with four each. The player of the game was Sydnee Balser

Semifinal game:

Explosions lost 80-62 to Cape Breton. Lauren MacEachern scored 17, Young and Balser score 13 each, Gouchie scored eight, Lauren Chitty with six, Taylor Chitty and Furlong with two each and Beylea with one point. The player of the game was Ashley MacEachern.